Jade Lake
by Kyrleia
Summary: Hiiro gets stranded in God-only-knows where, at least to him that's what it is. Needing money, and without a weapon, he's forced toget a job. And Hiiro's never worked on a farm before! H/U. CHAPTER4 UP!
1. Hiiro's misfortune

'Tis me!!! The author of Something to Live For!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! ::room goes silent:: _ ::Homer voice:: Doh!!! Anyway, I have a story Idea. ::laughter:: ShutUP people!!! That's not funny!!! Here is a teaser/prologue, to see how well it goes over.  
  
Disclaimer: I don't own GW or SM, But, in my dreams, I am almighty and therefore own EVERYTHING. Mwahahahahahahaha!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! XD  
  
Ages: It's AC 199, so that makes Hiiro: 19 Usagi: 17 (actually, she's 16, but will be turning 17 during the story)  
  
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This was NOT a good day. Hiiro had been flying to the Sanq kingdom with the rest of the guys, they had been assigned to protect the Peacecraft Bitch, and there was a changeover of planes somewhere in America. While waiting to be boarded onto the next plane he had gone to get himself some coffee, and some girl had started shamelessly hitting on him. In an attempt to get away from her, he had hidden inside the coffee shop bathroom, but the girl was so damn determined that she waited for him outside. Inevitably, Hiiro had missed his flight. So, here he was, in the middle of nowhere, stranded, with a whopping three dollars and eighty-four cents in his pocket, and without his gun. He didn't even know what state he was in!! Damn small planes and their isolated airports. Damn airport security. Damn the fact that he, the Perfect Soldier, got flustered when a mere girl flirted with him. And damn that stupid crow that kept dive-bombing his head!!!!!  
  
There were miles of cornfields all around him, so he assumed that there must be somebody living around here. But he couldn't see a house, so, rather than get lost in a bunch of corn, he'd stick to the road.  
  
After about two hours of walking down the road, without the chance to hitch hike, as no cars had gone past, Hiiro was approaching a town. He could guess that it was a small town, judging from the fact that it was a simple, two-lane road leading to it. Had it been a big city, it would have been a four or six lane highway. A moment later, Hiiro saw a big sign standing by the road, reading:  
  
Welcome to the city of Georgetown, Illinois population: 500  
  
Hiiro mentally groaned. Great, the only town within miles, he'd bet, and it was home to a whopping 500 people. He'd guessed it was a small town, but he hadn't counted on it being *that* small. But of course, being the Perfect Soldier, none of this showed on his face, and he continued on.  
  
When he entered Georgetown, it was getting late in the day, so nothing but the few restaurants that were there were open. Due to lack of money and weaponry, he needed a job. And no one seemed to be hiring. So, he chose a steakhouse and went in, waded through the throng of people and asked one of the waitresses if she new anywhere that he could find work. She thought for a second, then answered.  
  
"I'm pretty sure that Old Man Thompson is in need of a farmhand. You look like you could handle most of the work. What's your name, boy?"  
  
"Hn. Hiiro Yui."  
  
"Great, I'm Jenny. I'm friends with his daughter, so I'll put in a good word for you as soon as I can get to a phone. You can get there by taking the only road out of town, for about seven miles. Their farm is real easy to see from the road, 'cuz the house is about 200 feet back from it. You can probably get a ride from Mr. Dean, if you'll wait about fifteen minutes until he's done here, he has to go that way anyway. So hold on."  
  
With that Jenny left to deliver the tray of food she was carrying to a table, and on her way back to the kitchen stopped by an older man's table and talked to him, throwing a glance his way, as she conversed with the man. Hiiro assumed that the man must be Mr. Dean. Hiiro saw Mr. Dean nod, and Jenny smiled, thanked him and continued her trip to the kitchen.  
  
Ten minutes later, the man that Hiiro guessed to be Mr. Dean approached him, introduced himself and offered a ride. On the way to "Old Man Thompson's" house, Mr. Dean struck up a converstion, of sorts.  
  
"So, you're going to brave working for Ken, eh??" He saw the questioning look (a raised eyebrow) on Hiiro's face. "Nasty temper, that one. His one weakness is his daughter, Amy. That girl is as sweet as can be, but very protective of her father, for God only knows what reason. A word to the wise, though: DON'T hit on her, or you'll find your ears boxed, your head ringing, and yourself out of a job faster than you can say 'But sir...'"  
  
"An amazon?"  
  
"Nah, but if her father finds out, SHOO-WEE, I wouldn't want to be the guy who made that mistake!" Mr. Dean chuckled. "The last guy who tried out for Ken's farmboy left town within a week. I heard it was the stress of how hard Ken worked him, and the fact that Ken caught the boy leering at Amy. Apparently Anita and Derek, Ken's wife and son, died before they moved here, and the loss hit him hard. Amy once told me that he used to be a kind, if somewhat over-protective, man. So now, with the death of everyone but Amy, he became even more overprotective of the girl, seeing as she's all he has left...."  
  
Mr. Dean continued to prattle on, and by the time that he pulled into a driveway, the sun was setting, and it was starting to get dark. Getting out of the van, Hiiro followed Dean up the walk, and stopped on the porch as Dean rang the doorbell. It was a nice house, a two story one that looked to be rather old, but well cared for, in good condition. It seemed that there was a basement/storm cellar, too, and the big picture windows gave an airy look. The attic had a large, circular stained glass window, and the porch was very large, wrapping around the corner of the house where the steps were. Hiiro could see two porch swings at either end of the veranda. The house was painted white with forest-green edging. All in all, it was an impressive dwelling, seeing as most people lived in apartments, condo's or small houses and shacks, not large, old, farmhouses. The oak door swung open.  
  
A tall man, looking to be in his late thirties/early forties stepped out. He had dark brown hair and eyes, and looked nothing like what Hiiro had imagined. Since that girl, Jenny, called him "Old Man" Thompson, he had pictured a decrepit old man and his thirty-year-old daughter taking care of him. Instead, this man looked young enough to be just starting out and having more children.  
  
"What is it, Samuel?" Thompson spoke with a slight accent, one so miniscule that Hiiro couldn't quite place it.  
  
"Ken!! I've gotcha a farmhand!!!"  
  
"Is that so?" Ken studied Hiiro, and seemed satisfied when Hiiro didn't back down from the hard stare he gave him. "He'll do. What's your name, boy?" That was the second time that day that Hiiro had heard that very phrase.  
  
"Hiiro Yui." His name, distinctly foriegn, illicited an eyebrow raise from Ken.  
  
"You Japanese?"  
  
"Hn." Hiiro grunted in affirmation. Ken made a small snorting sound, then turned to Dean and thanked him curtly. before waving Hiiro in and closing the door  
  
"Your room'll be upstairs, the last one one the right. You will be up by six o'clock every morning, you will work, if you have any questions you will ask me, you will be inside by sundown. There will be no guests, no going out to late-night parties, no drinking, no smoking, no drug use of any kind for that matter, no long phone calls. All noise stops at ten- o'clock PM, unless it's an emergency. I don't care how late you stay up at night, as long as you are up in time for work. You are responsible for your own Breakfast, which will be eaten in the kitchen, and Dinner will be in the dining room, you will bring a lunch with you to the fields if you want one at all, you will shower before Supper. You start working tomorrow, I will accompany you and show you what to do for everything tomorrow and only tomorrow. After that, you are expected to do it yourself. Pay is seventy- five dollars a week, paid every two weeks. Oh, and you WILL stay away from my daughter. Any Questions?"  
  
"Do you have a computer?"  
  
"No. I trust you can find your room?"  
  
"Yes."  
  
"Good." With that, Ken left.  
  
Hiiro trudged up the stairs, turned down the hall, and continued. There were three rooms that adjoined to the hall, one of them probably a bathroom, And one door that was open a crack, letting Hiiro see the stairs that most likely went up to the attic. As he passed the second dor, on the left, he heard someone humming a little tune. That must be the girl, Amy's room. He found his room and was gratified to see that it was simple, but tasteful. There was one window, with blue curtains, a mahogany desk, a small closet, and a bed. The head and footboard were dark wood, the sheets were the same dark blue as the curtains, and the comforter had a dizzying pattern of tiny dark blue and white chavrons. There were two pillows in plain white cases. The carpet, too, was dark blue, and the walls and ceiling were white, but not quite as bright of a white as the house's outside walls. There was one lamp one a stand near the bed, and another on the desk, their shades also blue. There was no overhead light except for in the closet. Hiiro discarded his jeans, hanging them over the desk chair, pulled back the bed covers, and collapsed onto the bed. He flipped the covers back over himself, and was asleep before his head hit the pillow.  
  
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~~~~~~~~ How was that??? Please review, this one was extra long!!! (for me, anyway) Especially for a first chapter. Find out what happens next time on Jade Lake!!! 


	2. And, we're off!

Well, this didn't quite get the required amount of reviews, it finally stabilized at 8 reviews, which is close enough, I guess. Since the last time I started a brand new *large* GW/SM story, I only got 3 reviews on the first chapter, (*Cough*SomethingToLiveFor*cough*) I've decided that I can't REALLY be THAT much of a bitch. I tend to take myself too seriously, anyway. But I DO expect 10 reviews for this chapter, though. Thank all of those who DID review. Oh, and to "V", who said that they thought this was a Hiiro/Usa story, not Hiiro/Ami: this IS a Hiiro/Usa story. Unless it's a one-shot, you can't tell much at all from the first chapter. So don't worry.  
  
Standard disclaimers apply.  
  
Note: I updated my songfic Her Everything a while ago, but got barely any reviews. Could you please do me a little favor? Please read and review it.  
  
A warning: The longest time I ever spent on a farm that was still in use was a whopping three weeks, and it was really only animals, and fields of feed corn that belonged to the neighbor, so I'm probably going to skip over a few of the things that Hiiro has to do, or just say it, not describe it. Whatever I make Hiiro's job to be will be a mix of the things that I myself willingly helped with, and some basic knowledge. Also I took the basic structure of the Thompson house from an old farmhouse my Grandparents own. I only spent one day there, but I loved it so much that it forever sticks in my memory. Argh, I'm rambling, whatever, on with the fic. ::munches on dry Frosted Flakes::  
  
[Me talking]  
  
'thinking'  
  
*emphasis*  
  
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The next morning, Hiiro awoke to the sun streaming in through window, which he noticed was strategically placed in alignment to the bed so as to glare light right in the face of the person on it. Sitting up, he again took in his surroundings before dressing and heading downstairs. He found his way to the kitchen with relative ease, having been trained to memorize things very quickly did have it's advantages. A note was on to the counter. He removed the glass of water that held it down, and, as one normally does, read it. What first caught his attention was the beautiful script it was written in. The daughter, Amy, must have written it, as he doubted that Ken took much interest in calligraphy. The note read:  
  
Hey, stranger! Cereal's in the lower corner cupboard, the one that spins. Everything else is in the refrigerator, if you want any breakfast at all. Might I suggest that you make your lunch now, too? Take it with you, you're probably going to need it.  
  
Hiiro looked at the clock. 5:23. 'greeeaaat' [sarcasm intended, folks] Not only were these people unusually early risers, Amy seemed to be disturbingly cheerful. Too much like Duo. After deciding to skip breakfast, he searched the refrigerator for anything he deemed suitable for lunch, finally settling on a ham sandwich and a coke. He found the back door, and left to find Ken. Hiiro soon found that that might be a hard task. Though the farm wasn't crowded by any means, there were still quite a few separate buidlings there, most of them spread out a fair distance from each other. Not to mention that the fields stretched for a *very* long while. He'd figure out what goes where, anyway.  
  
A half hour later, Hiiro finally found Ken, who set him to moving the hay bales in the back of an old pickup truck to the barn. Well, that was easy enough, Hiiro thought as he threw the bales over the side of the truck, not realy caring if they were messy, as long as the stayed in the right place. When he finished, he jumped down off of the truck and was just about to leave when he heard a silvery, tinkling giggle.  
  
"Congratulations, boy. You've done half the job." Hiiro turned around quickly, not quite knowing what to expect. To his great surprise, he saw a girl on the second floor, which was completely open on the inside, with the exception of some tall, wooden beams. She was lying on her front, feet in the air, ankles crossed, hands under her chin, and a book lay next to her, turned over to keep her place. Her eyes, the darkest blue he had ever seen, flecked with a color he couldn't distinguish from such a distance, sparkled as she saw his reaction. The light coming on from an open shutter created a halo around her head, making her seem like an angel.  
  
"Who are you?" He asked. She sat up, and, using on hand to push, launched herself down into the opening, landing effortlessly on her feet. As if she had experience with jumping from taller things. Hiiro took note of what she was wearing. Short jean cutoffs, a long, baggy T-shirt, and her light brown, streaked with dark blonde, hair was in a ponytail that came to her mid-back. Her petite form made her look a lot younger than she actually was, which he guessed to be about fifteen, and if they stood perfectly straight, face to face, her head would fit right under his chin. She smiled, tilting her head slightly, and offered her hand.  
  
"Hi! I'm Amy Thompson. And you?"  
  
"Hn." Amy frowned.  
  
"Don't you know how rude it is to grunt? I answered your question, now you answer mine."  
  
"Hnn. Hiiro Yui." Now Amy looked really annoyed, especially when he didn't shake her hand. She dropped it, rolling her eyes and muttering something about how she could see that this was going to be a total disaster. Then she sighed, and looked back at the man in front of her.  
  
"Whatever. Anyway, you have to get the hay into the loft, which is right up where I was. You use that, pulley" at this she indicated a slightly rusting pulley, "that rope," she pointed to a length of rope on the wall, and that ladder, over there on the wall. You use the rope to tie between the wires on the hay, and then hook it on the pulley, go up there, pull it, and voila!! Of course it isn't really that easy, but you'll figure it out." Finished, she used the indicated ladder to scurry back up into the loft, retrieved her book, jumped down, and left, obviously exasperated with Hiiro already. He noted, after she left, that she had a stronger accent than her father, even if it wasn't all that noticeable. Then he returned to his job.  
  
Outside, Amy, book in hand, walked to the house, with every intention of changing and going for a ride on her horse, whom she had named Pepper for his gray flecked black coat. Petting her cat, Kiki, in her room, before she went back out, this time in jeans, she thought about this new development. 'Wonderful. That guy is such a prick!! Oy, he's already one of the few I'd almost *like* Daddy to get rid of. Argh. I shouldn't judge him yet though. Maybe he's just not talkative. Or he's shy, to the former seems most likely. Either way, I don't know how much I'll like, or dislike him. I need to think of something else. He is handsome, though. I'd almost say that he's hot if it weren't for his cold demeanor and dead eyes. Ack!!! Think of something else girl!!!!' this just made her focus on him even more. And as these things go, she stalked back out to the barn to get Pepper, in a VERY bad mood. She could usually make her thoughts do whatever she wanted them to do. Why did this guy, some stupid *man* get under skin like this?  
  
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Mwaha! What do you think of that? You finally met Amy, who isn't exactly who she seems. Please review and tell me your questions, comments and/or concerns!!! 


	3. Even the Perfect Soldier has moments of ...

Well Allo!!!!!!! As you probably guessed, I'm updating!!!!!!!!! It's a miracle!!!!! I finally got the reviews I wanted, plus the fact that I've recently been inspired. Lucky you!!!! Well, if you like this story, that is.  
  
Disclaimer: yadda yadda yadda.  
  
Note: This is a story in which things are *not* as they seem, so my dear readers, don't make assumptions too quickly, because unless you are very good at guessing, you have no idea. I intend to incorporate some major plot twists and hopefully cause confusion. ^_^  
  
Oh, and I have made a decision to change the setting of this story. Forget that in the first chapter I set it in Illinois or wherever, 'cause I've decided that I like the idea of setting it in Montana is better, especially as I have more knowledge of the general topography there. So, replace the corn fields with plains, and even if I'm wrong in my descriptions, remember the artistic license and that this is set very far in the future, so let's say that over time, the population there became significantly smaller, as more and more people left in search of bigger things. K?  
  
{me butting in}  
  
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Amy dismounted when she came to the beginnings of the forest, and led her sweating horse through the dense growth, dodging the several branches that threatened to painfully remove her head. She had run Pepper hard to get there quickly. She seriously needed to cool off from her second encounter with the new hand. He was quite possibly the most infuriating person she'd ever met! He just waltzed into town, stayed in her house, and then gave her the royal brush-off, as if he was so much better than her {this is her point of view, anger-clouded and all, not necessarily the real scenario}!  
  
Further into the woods, the trees suddenly started clearing dramatically. A town had once stood there, she knew. It was deserted hundreds of years before, when a drought had ravaged the land and war had struck, and even the technologies that were available couldn't save it. The same story had been true for much of Montana and its neighbouring states. It was depressing to think about, as the death toll from starvation had been high, and then people began leaving in masses as the threat of natural disaster had loomed. The people in Amy's town were, in a way, pioneers. The highly advanced technology of the day hadn't touched Georgetown yet, and people did not live in large apartment complexes or condominiums. They owned land and built houses, and worked the old ways to make a living. A computer technologist would fail in what the rest of the exceedingly urbanized rest of the world considered Hicksville. People were self-sufficient there. They depended on naught but themselves and their land. The population was indeed small, as very few people wanted to live in such a comparatively rustic area; it had been one hell of a cultural shock to her when her father moved them there. Now, a lake covered what people speculated to have been "downtown" Atkins, Montana.  
  
Amy released Pepper to roam for a while and climbed a boulder that jutted out over the lake. Though inaccurate, she considered this unnamed body of water to be hers. Tilting her face to the bright sun, she breathed deeply of the fresh, clean air and focused on calming herself and emptying herself of her anger and all emotion but serenity. After a moment, she stood again, and took a running leap off of her giant rock. The chilly water shocked her, and, floating with her eyes closed to the glare of the sun, she decided that since it was only early June, she should have expected the temperature to be such, and promised herself that she would try again when the coming heat wave struck, as it always did every year.  
  
She swam to the shore and whistled for Pepper, who came to her immediately, nuzzling her head and blowing a short puff of air into her soaked hair. She laughed and patted him, scratching him in between his ears. Quickly, she swung her leg over the saddle and began her trek back to her home. Pepper knew the way better than she did, so she relaxed and closed her eyes, smiling to the cloudless sky and the colors starting to dye it as the sun descended slowly towards the western mountains. Half of an hour later, she was still soaked, but she was almost home, Pepper keeping a steady trot.  
  
~*~  
  
Hiiro looked up at the sound of hoofs striking the ground and the distinct sound of a horse's snorting. As he did, his breath momentarily caught. For Kami's sake, he was the Perfect Soldier, but he was still a man. Amy was a vision, her wet hair partially drawn back and sticking to her skin, her shirt clinging to her body, and that calm look of peacefulness gracing her perfect face. Her eyes were closed and she seemed a heavenly apparition designed to stun him. The backdrop of the painted sky enhanced her beauty, and as she dismounted and led her horse towards the barn, she smiled, and swung her hair back out of her face, and when she bent over to pat on of the dogs, Hiiro was seriously in need of a cold shower, and was mentally cursing at himself for his reaction to her.  
  
She patted the horse, and continued to the barn. Unfortunately, she had to go towards him to do such, and when she drew up next to him, a brief look of annoyance marred her features, but she tentatively offered him a small smile, which he ignored as he quickly stalked away. He barely heard her murmur "Bastard" as she led the large animal into its stall and fed it. From the other corner of the building, he watched her brush her beast, scratch it, whisper nonsense to it, and pick it's hooves before lugging a bucket of water over to the stall. He was almost tempted to help her, but decided against such a silly notion. Finished, she walked- or rather, *swished* out, calling over her shoulder that "If you want any supper, you'd best get inside!" He followed, trying his damndest to ignore the way her hips swung and the soaked cloth that still clung to her every curve.  
  
At supper, all was silent for the first five minutes, and it was easier to actually look at Amy when her aesthetically pleasing body was covered with new, dry clothing. Clearing his throat noisily, Ken started the only conversation there was by asking where his daughter had been to all afternoon.  
  
"Oh, I took Pepper out to the lake and thought for a while, then took a brief swim, and headed home, but I was going slowly, so it took a bit longer than usual."  
  
"How was the water?"  
  
"Cold. But I half-expected such, as it is still rather early in the year. By July though, the chilliness will certainly be welcome, though, I'll have to host cooling-off parties all the time again!"  
  
"That's nice."  
  
After that brief exchange, the room fell quiet again, and they quickly finished. Amy collected the dishes and loaded them into the dishwasher, then stretched and yawned, and excused herself to her room. Ken left to make one more round before he too retreated to bed, and Hiiro himself retired to his room. Lying in bed, he wondered what was wrong with him. He had never reacted to any female in such a way before. Kami, that Amy was dangerous.  
  
Similarly, down the hall, Amy was wondering why Hiiro annoyed her so. Normally, if someone gave her the cold shoulder, she just returned the favor, but for some reason, she couldn't let go of her irritation at the new guy. He was just so..ugh! She sat at her desk, and brought out her stationery and started to pen a letter.  
  
'Dearest sister,' the letter began. A moment later, Amy dropped her pen. She couldn't continue. She didn't know what to say. After a bit of hesitation, she placed the unfinished letter in the box in her closet, filled with the identical papers. She turned off the light.  
  
~*~~*~~*~ ~*~~*~~*~ ~*~~*~~*~ Well, what do you think? I, for one, am very proud of this chapter. I think it went well. And, it's longer than usual. 4 pages!!!!!! Review!!!!!! When I get 10, I'll write another chappie! 


	4. Seasons in the Sun

Ugh! Noties: I must stress that YES, this is a Hiiro/Usagi story!!!!! Things are not always as they seem, so please, stop worrying about it and be assured that this is and will be Hiiro/Usagi. And about the whole having Amy wrong thing, come on, Amy is a VERY common name. And she's NOT Ami Mizuno!!!!! This Amy could be anybody. She may actually have no ties to Usagi whatsoever. BUT, that's my whole point. I think I've stated before that I mean to confuse everyone. But I'm happy to say that ONE of my reviewers has it figured out!!!!! Yay You!!!!!!! Sorry, but I can't put your SN up here, or everyone will go read your comment and figure it out, but I promise that when I reveal it all, I'll give you due credit. I hope that you know who you are, though!  
  
Disclaimer: Blah.  
  
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That morning, Amy woke up unusually late. She could tell by the light and temperature that it had to be around noon. She seized a pair of her cutoffs and a T-shirt and padded across the hall to the bathroom to shower. Fifteen minutes later, she returned to her room to get her book, pet the cat now lounging on her unmade bet, and put on her sandals.  
  
As she stepped outside, she tilted her face to the sun and breathed deeply before running off into the field. The hayloft was off limits at the moment, not only would it be unbearably hot right then, she wasn't going to risk bumping into the new hand again. Instead, she found a clear, sunny spot about five minutes into her walk and settled there to read, but found it hard to concentrate. So, she reminisced and tried to resolve a nagging feeling that told her that things were going to start happening again. She remembered it from they night they left. Before she had even known, she had known, in a sense. She had had a bad feeling that night, one that was confirmed, and her entire life had turned upside down.  
  
~~Flashback~~  
  
She was lying quietly in her bed, trying to shake her anxiety, and almost about to fall asleep. Suddenly, her door swung open and banged loudly against her wall; she shot up in her bed, hair blocking her vision for a second as her heart pounded hard, echoing in her ears. Her father strode purposefully into the room, not bothering to turn the light on.  
  
"Get up, we have to leave. Pack only what you need." He spoke harshly and quietly.  
  
"Demo." She started.  
  
"Iie 'Demo's'. Do exactly as I say and hurry. Get dressed."  
  
"What about Kaa-chan? And Itouto?"  
  
"Don't worry about them, they're already gone. Now hurry, no more questions!" And he left the room for a minute  
  
This time, she did as she was told, and dressed quickly, for some reason noticing exactly what she was wearing; black velvet jeans, a green T-shirt, a pink sweater that her friends had given to her. She remembered that her father would want them to travel quickly, and she had a feeling that they didn't want to be recognized. Hesitating for only a moment, she grabbed a kitchen knife that she had used on an apple hours before, and quickly sawed it through her hair just above the shoulders before she could change her mind. She watched the hair that she had been so proud of spill to the floor in a silken puddle around her feet. She collected it, so that no one who came to her room would know that she cut her hair, and, tying the long strands into a knot, shoved it in a bag. Then, she scooped some clothing into a backpack, a hairbrush, make-up, and a toothbrush. The moonlight glinted off of something from the corner of her eye and she grabbed it without thinking about it. She pulled on boots and left to find her father.  
  
"I'm ready." Was all she needed to say. He nodded, and they headed for the car out front, engine running. Her father must have broken every speed and driving law on the way to wherever they were going, and she, having been correct in her assumption that they needed to not be recognized, made use of the bottle of spray-on hot pink temporary hair dye that she had gotten as a birthday present. For a moment, her father softened, and reached over and fingered her newly shorn, raggedly cut, brightly hued hair.  
  
"You were so proud of it." She just gave a half-smile and shrugged.  
  
"Some things are more important." He nodded, and handed a few papers to her.  
  
"That's your new passport and information. You are now Amelia Carrie Thompson, and I'm Ken. Get used to it; those names are what'll keep us alive."  
  
"Can I just be Amy?"  
  
"Sure." Pulling into the airport parking garage, and abandoning the car, she followed her father in and stood by as they checked their bags and boarded a red-eye flight.  
  
Once they were on the plane, she spoke up again. "Where are we going?"  
  
"America. And you'll have to help me out; you speak English better than I do."  
  
"Okay. Have Kaa-san and Itouto-chan gone on ahead of us?"  
  
"Iie."  
  
"Then..."  
  
"They're dead." The pain in her father's eyes was evident as he said this, and in shock, she spent the rest of the flight in silence.  
  
~~End of Flashback~~  
  
She sighed and looked at her book. It was in despair and loneliness that she had turned to books, and found solace. She wasn't allowed to make contact with her friends, and all she had ever been told about her mother's and brother's deaths was that they were murdered by OZ soldiers. Her father never said why. Slowly, though, Amy had adjusted to a life in which she was very isolated, and started to enjoy her solitude. She made some friends, but she was still largely alone, because no one knew who she was. All they knew was Amelia Thompson, Honor Roll student, exemplary citizen, talented athlete, all-around nice girl. They never took the time to see through her ruse. Slowly, she drifted off to sleep, laying back in the dirt and old corn husks, book in hand.  
  
Later that evening, Ken told Hiiro to go look for his daughter; it wasn't like her to stay out past sunset. He figured that since she wasn't in the hayloft, she was in the field. He set Hiiro to one side, himself to another. After about ten minutes, Hiiro found Amy lying on her back in the field, one arm under her head, the other lightly holding a page open in a book, resting on her abdomen, fast asleep. Even in the dusky light, he could tell that she had a helluva sunburn and was going to be quite upset when she woke up. He nudged her foot, to no reaction, so he bent down and shook her. Groaning, she opened her eyes, and winced as she felt the taughtness of her skin.  
  
"Get up." She glared at Hiiro. "Your father's looking for you." That seemed to be all the initiative she needed, and she sprang up, worried about worrying her dear father. Cursing herself for not wearing sunblock, she felt her dried out face and made a promise to herself to apply some Aloe Vera lotion later.  
  
"Sorry to worry you, Daddy," she said as they met Ken coming back out of his side of the fields "I fell asleep in the cornfield."  
  
"Now you'll be up all night." He laughed. She looked sheepish. "Well, I gotta take care of this sunburn. It's pretty bad." She hugged her father, and left to go inside the house.  
  
That night, as Hiiro collapsed onto his bed without even bothering to change, there was a light knock at the door.  
  
"It's open." Was all he said, and, uncertainly, Amy entered, looking very out-of-place. He just raised an eyebrow, and she blushed.  
  
"Ummmmm... I couldn't help but notice that you wear the same thing everyday. Do you have any other clothes with you?"  
  
"No."  
  
"Well, tomorrow's the one day off that you get during the week, so I'll take you to get some more if you want." He considered for a moment, then decided.  
  
"Okay." So she left and he fell asleep.  
  
~*~~*~~*~ ~*~~*~~*~ ~*~~*~~*~ Well, at least this puts together some stuff, I think. Or it just may make things more confusing. I hope that the length of this chappie outweighs how long it took to get it out! FYI, its 1,257 words/4 pages long!!!!!! Okay, REVIEW!!!! And tell me what you think! 


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